Psalms Chapter 68 verse 30 Holy Bible

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 30. - Rebuke the company of spear men; rather, the wild beast of the reeds; i.e. the crocodile or the hippopotamus, either of which may well symbolize the empire of Egypt, the mightiest of the heathen powers in David's time. The multitude of the bulls represents other heathen powers, Assyria perhaps especially, which had the human-headed and winged bull for its principal emblem. With the calves of the people; rather, of peoples - an obscure phrase, perhaps meaning inferior powers. Till every one submit himself with pieces of silver; literally, (each) submitting himself to thee with pieces of silver. This is given as the result of the rebukes. When the various earth powers have been "rebuked" or chastised by God, then they will submit to bring gifts, or pay tribute, to Israel (comp. ver. 18). Scatter thou the people that delight in war. This is exegetical of the first clause - rebuke these various world powers that delight in war by "scattering" them, or putting them to flight before their enemies.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(30) Rebuke . . .--See margin, which (if we change beasts to beast) gives the right rendering. So LXX. and Vulgate. The beast of the reed is undoubtedly symbolical of Egypt, whether it be the crocodile or the hippopotamus.Bulls . . . calves.--These are possibly emblems respectively of the strong and the weak--the princes and the common people. (Comp., for a somewhat similar description of the Egyptians, Psalm 76:5-6.) But a slight emendation suggested by Gratz gives the herd of bulls despisers of the people, a reading quite in keeping with the ordinary use of this figure. (See Psalm 22:12; Jeremiah 1:11.) The figure in connection with the bull-worship of Egypt is especially significant.Till every one submit.--This clause still waits for a satisfactory explanation. The Authorised Version is intelligible, but grammatically indefensible. The LXX. are undoubtedly right in taking the verb as a contracted infinitive preceded by a negative particle (comp. Genesis 27:1), and not as a participle. The meaning submit or humble (Proverbs 6:3) is only with violence deduced from the original meaning of the verb, which (see Daniel 7:7) means to stamp like a furious animal. One cognate is used (Ezekiel 34:18) of a herd of bulls fouling the pasture with their feet, and another means to tread. The form of the verb here used might mean to set oneself in quick motion, which is the sense adopted by the LXX. in Proverbs 6:3. Hence we get rebuke . . . from marching for pieces of silver, the meaning being that a rebuke is administered not only to Egypt, but also to those Jews who took the pay of Egypt as mercenaries, and oppressed the rest of the community, a sense in keeping with the next clause. . . .